It’s the start of 2018 and you want to accelerate your company growth but Brexit is bringing uncertainty, which is making you think twice about recruiting a permanent senior executive, so can an interim provide you with a cost-effective solution during this period?
Whatever the size of the organisation, not having capable staff in key areas – sales, marketing, operations, finance etc. – can be difficult to manage whether it’s planned or not. ‘Muddling through’ is an option chosen by some companies in the mistaken belief that the most economic route is not to fill a role during a period of political uncertainty. Losing business is often the consequence of this route, whereas a capable interim filling an existing vacancy can achieve many things.
The skilled interim can offer an organisation powerful – and longer term – benefits over a defined period of time, here are just a few reasons you may wish to consider hiring an interim
1) An interim can help you manage and motivate a team:
Not having someone ‘qualified’ in a senior role causes all sorts of issues internally – Example:
a) Lack of motivation
b) Performance slow-down
c) Mistakes – misjudgements of varying levels of seriousness.
This can sometimes lead to staff jumping ship to the competition and taking rumours with them. I don’t want to over-egg this but leadership – even at middle management level – is important. Hiring an interim can help you manage and motivate a team, and reduce the risk of starting a decline that could be difficult to halt
2) An Interim can help with continuity means ‘business as usual’:
Don’t give your customers a reason to look elsewhere. Service continuity means ‘business as usual’ to a customer so how you manage short-midterm vacancies is the key to encouraging loyalty from your customer. It’s frightening reality that a relationship taking months to nurture into place, can take a matter of days to destroy.
3) An interim can help you move fast-forward:
An interim can enable the company to move forward with its plans. Your interim manager, unfettered by the politics of the organisation, will be focused, single-minded and able to drive the project forward.
4) Hiring an interim is like an injection of fresh ideas:
Not being an ‘insider’ gives the interim the excuse to suggest things that others might hold back – hiring an interim is an injection of fresh ideas. The interim practices mindfulness – using their own experiences to ensure success without being burdened by the culture of an organisation that does things a certain way just ‘because it always has’.
This means the organisation can take advantage of the interim’s ideas and new approach freshly imported from the outside world. People, customers, projects – the board even – are exposed to the kind of rare objectivity which can influence the future of an organisation in a positive way.
5) An Interim can lead change transformation
Fresh ideas and new approaches are key attributes of the interim but so too are traditional hands-on capabilities. Rather than some abstract or theoretical exercise, interim is there to lead transformation and change, and get projects in place, rolling out processes as they go
Interims are not only used to change, we also thrive on it. From crisis management to business turnaround – interims facilitate and can provide leadership. By design, we interim managers are micro businesses in our own right. Our experience is broad and ongoing so we remain up-to-date, full of fresh ideas and primed to put them into practice.
Interim executives are result orientated and used to working towards a specific goal and delivering to a deadline
Ultimately, as an Interim I help my client manage the risk of change rather than sitting back and awaiting the possibility of getting left behind.
So, if the economic and political uncertainty is causing you to hold back then an Interim executive is cost effective because they are a variable cost, not a fixed overhead. In addition, they offer flexibility in terms of their availability, working hours, work location and role. The short-term nature of their contract also offers many CEO/MD peace of mind
In Summary
- You’re hiring a specialist to achieve something specific in a short space of time – something that has a lasting effect
• Manage transformations
• Encouraging open communication, to accelerate the delivery of key business goals/objectives
• Coach staff into being leaders
• Undertake due diligence and post-merger integrations
• Roll up their sleeves and deliver change through the client’s staff
Is it time you re-consider your staffing options in a climate of uncertainty?
About Author Rakesh Shah RVR Management has over 20 years’ experience of growing sales in large corporate companies as well as SME companies, in UK/Europe USA and Asia. He is technically, MBA and CIM qualified with a background of delivering growth within engineering/manufacturing sectors and offer a range of business tools and support services that deliver results.
Contact Rakesh Shah : 0778 555 8344